Two, making the case for why he’s the real reason everyone thinks Bill Belichick is a genius OR making the case for why genius Belichick is the real reason Brady’s even eligible for the first exercise.

Three, comparing the quarterback in your NFL city to Brady.

It’s completely unfair to Marcus Mariota and it’s actually quite silly. But let’s go with three anyway. Because although their personalities are miles apart and Brady’s ability to shred defenses is matched by maybe eight to 10 others in the history of the game, Mariota and Brady are comparable in three important ways.

One, Mariota has earned the same kind of respect around his building in terms of his preparation and the way he takes care of himself, right down to whatever grilled, butter-less vegetable he’s featuring for dinner tonight. Two, Mariota is a franchise quarterback. Three, the Tennessee Titans can win a Super Bowl some day with Mariota.

You know it’s over, right? Maybe it was over before the season started. It was close, anyway. Another long-term injury or consistent ugliness on the field might have convinced Titans brass to move on from Mariota.

Mariota can win, which is the point

But through more ups and downs, an elbow nerve injury giving him tingly fingers for weeks, the expected learning curve in his third system in four NFL seasons, the continued absence of surrounding weapons in the same realm of what many of his peers enjoy, and his own persistent navigation of it all, Mariota has demonstrated that he must be kept and paid.

That makes him a franchise quarterback. Not a consistent star or future Hall of Famer, but a franchise quarterback. There’s a range of quality within that definition.

As for the Super Bowl, do we have to list some of the quarterbacks who have won Super Bowls again? That’s the whole point here. The point is not to have 5,000-yard passers or All Pros. The point is not to get strong Pro Football Focus grades. It’s to win the Super Bowl.

Oct 21, 2018; London, United Kingdom; Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) waits for the snap in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Chargers during an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. USA Today

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) scrambles out of the pocket to make a throw in the first quarter against the Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium Sunday, Sept. 9, 2018, in Miami Gardens, Fla. George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) enjoys a laugh as they lead the Jaguars 30-3 in the fourth quarter at EverBank Field Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017 in Jacksonville, Fla. George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota gets his Predators jersey with his girlfriend Kiyomi Cook before he takes the ice to fire up the fans at Bridgestone Arena on Tuesday night before a playoff game against the San Jose Sharks. George Walker IV / The Tennessean

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota and the team's offensive line cheer the Predators before Game 2 of the second round NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at the Bridgestone Arena Sunday, April 29, 2018, in Nashville, Tenn.
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Jimmy Cummings brought his life sized cutout of Titans QB Marcus Mariota, to be signed at Fort Campbell as part of Titans Caravan Promotional tour.
Monday April 30, 2018, in Ft. Campbell, KY.
Larry McCormack / The Tennessean

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) waves to the crowd prior to game three of the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs between the Nashville Predators and San Jose Sharks on May 3 at Bridgestone Arena. Christopher Hanewinckel, Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) stretches for the touchdown but was stopped on the one-yard line in the second quarter at Nissan Stadium Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017 in Nashville, Tenn. Tom Stanford / Tennessean.com

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) walks dejectedly off the field after the team's 12-7 loss to the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium Sunday, Dec. 10, 2017 in Glendale, Ariz.
George Walker IV / Tennessean.com

Injured Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, right, watches on the field with offensive coordinator Jason Michael as players warm up before the game against the Texans. Mariota hopes to be able to play in the final game of the regular season, on Jan. 3, 2016. Mark Zaleski / AP

Injured Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota, right, greets a player before Sunday's game against the Texans at Nissan Stadium. Mariota is out with a sprained right MCL, an injury he said is similar to the earlier this season but not as severe. Mark Zaleski / AP

Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) exits the field after the Tennessee Titans loss to the Oakland Raiders in an NFL football game at Nissan Stadium, Sunday, Sept. 25, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean

Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota (8) points out a defender at the line of scrimmage during a night practice at St. Thomas Sports Park Monday Aug. 15, 2016, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV / The Tennessean

There was plenty to smile about for Titans general manager Ruston Webster, left, Marcus Mariota andcoach Ken Whisenhunt when the team selected the Oregon quarterback with the No. 2 pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. George Walker IV / The Tennessean

A healthy Mariota, fully comfortable in a system, with multiple legitimate options, likely would never approach the level of play of a Brady, whose remarkable career continues Sunday when the 7-2 Patriots visit the 4-4 Titans at Nissan Stadium. But that version of Mariota could win it all, and he wouldn’t have to be surrounded by the 1985 Bears defense and Troy Aikman’s 1990s Cowboys supporting offensive cast to do it.

Soft-spoken Mariota may look inadequate by comparison Sunday with fiery Brady winging the ball all over the yard, but the once-in-a-career-if-you’re-lucky outlier is not a fair standard. Brady’s mastery of a game astounds. Your team might beat his, but rarely will you come away looking like the better quarterback.

“I’d never compare,” Mariota said this week. “I think you get yourself into trouble. When you try to compare yourself amongst other players, you tend to try to be better than them instead of being the best that you can be.”

He did say, though, that Brady has “laid out the blueprint” of personal health leading to football success. Mariota, who has said he’s never sipped alcohol, is on Team Quinoa and Kale. And he shares another important trait with Brady as Logan Ryan — Brady’s teammate for four years in New England and Mariota’s for two — sees it.

“Marcus and Tom Brady are both the first person on the field every day,” Ryan said before Wednesday’s practice. “I’m pretty sure Marcus probably has his pads on and is on the field now. Going out there and being the first on the field, arriving to the stadium early, getting out there warming up and throwing, that’s people who realize they’re the franchise quarterbacks. And they want to be the hardest workers in the building.”

Beating Cowboys was a big step

This is all easier for fans to hear when Mariota is playing well. If he’s coming off a loss with a bad interception and some costly missed throws, no one wants to hear about the intangibles. System changes? Surrounding personnel shortcomings? Those are excuses when the rollercoaster is dipping and the folks who are convinced he isn’t the long-term answer — the Mari-doubtahs — have the floor.

Monday’s 28-14 win at Dallas silenced them. Mariota was superb in all aspects of the job, hanging in pockets of varying sizes and delivering throws on time, on target. He was throwing Darius Jennings and Cameron Batson open. He ran around when necessary, including a sprint for the put-away touchdown.

The Titans were 11-for-14 on third down and 4-for-5 in the red zone. Even Belichick disciple Mike Vrabel, allergic as he is to public Mariota evaluations, said, “It was good to see that from him, being able to balance when to stand in there and get rid of the ball and then when to take off like you saw in the red zone.”

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady celebrates a touchdown run by Cordarrelle Patterson during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Sunday, Nov. 4, 2018, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)(Photo: The Associated Press)

“Games like Monday night, they show you Marcus is not afraid to have the ball in his hands when it matters,” Ryan said. “One thing I learned playing with Tom Brady, he didn’t mind having the ball in his hands when it mattered either. He’s someone who works so hard he feels confident with every opportunity, and Marcus is the same thing.”

OK, so I guess we did do a lot of comparing Brady and Mariota. A 41-year-old who has been a Hall-of-Fame lock since before he was 30, and a 25-year-old who has yet to win over all the home fans.

They’ll share the field Sunday in Nashville, so let’s see if Mariota can beat Brady for the first time in his third try and add to the affirmation. He’s never going to be him. But he is going to be here.

Contact Joe Rexrode at jrexrode@tennessean.com and follow him on Twitter @joerexrode.